In Creeps The Night

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NOTE: This page was updated 04/18/2018 to provide a new image for the book and link to Amazon. The original links were broken. Also, this book is now published by BHC Press. It is now available in eBook, softcover, hard cover, and audiobook formats. 

In Creeps the Night, the Halloween-themed charity anthology from BHC Press with my story Little Monsters, is now available! You can find it here on Amazon (Kindle ebook) just in time for Halloween!



List of authors (with links to their web sites where available) and their story title:

AD Trosper           The Loop
Ailsa Abraham        Unexpected Visit
Andrew Patch         The Scarecrow
Angie Trafford       Subliminal
AR Meyering          The Dandelion Child
Ashley Fontainne     Whispered Pain

Beth Avery           Guardians

Catherine Connolly   Dealbreaker
Chris Fitzner        Murder House
Chris Glover         Eyes
Cory Eadson          Mr Morbid

DeVante Smith        Transitions
DJ Tyrer             Treat?
DM Kilgore           Nightfall’s Wraith

Edward Brock         A Cup of Yes or No
EG Smith             A Rustle of Leaves
Elle White           Delivery
Eric Brown           Under the Surface
Eric Martell         Penance
Essel Pratt          Fugacious Penubra

J Whitworth Hazzard  Ghoul’s Night Out
Joni Lynn            Ink

Kate Jennings        Final Investigations
Kayleigh Edwards     Now You See Them
Kevin G Bufton       The Face of Evil
Kevin Hammond        Write me In
KR Smith             Little Monsters

LaDonna Cole         Silenced
Laura Jamez          Vampire
Leslie Fulton        Dead Man Laughing
Lional Ray           Green Shadow
Lisa Shambrook       The Raven’s Bid

MA Walker            The Shadow Man
Marissa Ames         The Dark Spot
Mark W Coulter       The Mother-Thing
Mary MacFarlane      Live Witness
Michael Wombat       The Angel of Death
Morgan Griffith      Hellaway Bridge

Nick Johns           Gazes Also

Rebecca Fyfe         Immune
Rebecka Vigus        Finding Ghosts
Renan Nunes          Finders, Keepers
Ruth Long            Delivered
Ryan T Nuhfer        Closet Door

Shaun Avery          Child Chant
Sorcha O’Dowd        Friendly Fire
Spencer Stoner       On The Way Home
SR Karfelt           Golden Years

Theresa Miller       Deadliest Nursery Rhyme

William Dyer         A Dance of Amber

Note: If you are one of the authors and I don't have a link to your website, let me know and I'll be glad to add it.

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

FSF Challenge - Wheels

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This week's writing challenge from Five Sentence Fiction ( Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt: Wheels

What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie posts one word for inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word.

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Some people only want the best for their friends—no matter how it screws up everyone else...

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The Matchmaker Strikes Out
 

    "It's just that Brad and Sara as so right for each other."
    "You're not going to try to play match-maker again are you, Debbie?"
    "Well, being they're both so shy, I did have a few ideas on how to get them together—if you'd be willing to help."
    "Oh, I can hear those little wheels turning, but if you'll recall what happened before, I'm the one who got run over. Having already lost two good friends to your meddlesome schemes, all I can say is 'No, thanks'."

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Starship Farragut Kickstarter

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Although science fiction isn't my favorite genre, I do dabble in it from time to time. And after spending the weekend with a bunch of Trekkies at Shore Leave 36, I have been keeping up with it a little more than before. So when I ran into this kickstarter plea from the folks who create the Starship Farragut stories, I had to give them a plug.

They're working on a big project (movie length) called The Crossing and need a little help in financing their endeavor.

If you have a few extra bucks, maybe you can help them out! And they still have a lot of prizes / gifts left for those who donate (as of 9/23/2014).

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

FSF Challenge - Grief

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This week's writing challenge from Five Sentence Fiction ( Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt: Grief

What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie posts one word for inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word.

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Just keep walking...

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Tears of Stone

 

    "It's sad enough to bury a child, but if we're going to have a decent funeral I must insist on the family plot being properly maintained. I should think you would have the statuary cleaned as that horrid figure of a weeping woman on his wife's grave is simply covered with mildew. The child's father is the only survivor and I don't wish to make this any more depressing than it already is."
    "I'm sorry, Madam, but I don't understand. We have no statuary like that in our cemetery."

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Image source: Image source: http://lilliemcferrin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/grief_by_firesign24_7-300x234.jpg

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Beth Rhodes - Unwanted Vows

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Beth Rhodes, one of the writer / bloggers I follow, has a new book out through Boroughs Publishing! The title is Unwanted Vows and it's available for Kindle at Amazon. It's also available in Epub and PDF format directly from Boroughs.

Just in case you couldn't tell from the cover, Beth writes romance. From the Amazon site, here's a bit more of what it's about:

To safely raise her daughter, Samantha Hollister must join wounded U.S. Army veteran Morgan Lawrence in rediscovering an old love that never truly disappeared.

WOUNDED
Samantha Hollister is done relying on other people to take care of—or abuse—her. Her ex-husband is out of the picture now…like her family home, the haven she intended to seek. Her father just sold it to her high-school sweetheart, the man who abandoned her many years ago for the army. The man who still makes her heart flutter. But Samantha has vowed to never be led astray again. She has a daughter.

WANTING
Despite being injured in action, Morgan Lawrence lives life to the fullest. Each day is a gift, and after five years he is finally one step away from opening a resort for wounded veterans like himself. Unfortunately, a woman stands in his way. And while she has changed, Samantha remains everything he’s ever wanted. Now it’s a matter of helping her see which promises are meant to be broken, and that being strong doesn’t mean one has to fight alone.

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Cover Reveal - In Creeps The Night

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Updated Sept. 10, 2014: There is a list of the authors for this anthology available on the J.A.Mes website.

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Finally!

The cover for In Creeps The Night, a flash fiction horror anthology by J.A.Mes Press, has been revealed! It was created by their partner Blue Harvest Creative.

Cover of
In Creeps The Night

I rather like it. The fact that it will contain one of my own stories (titled Little Monsters) is entirely irrelevant. Well—I may be just the tiniest bit biased...

The book should be available on September 30, 2014. The proceeds for this anthology go to Mothers Without Borders, a volunteer, non-profit organization. From their website:

"Our purpose at Mothers Without Borders is to address the needs of orphaned and abandoned children in a holistic manner. We support efforts to provide safe shelter, food and clean water, education and access to caring adults. We want to assure that each child has someone who cares about them to teach them of their value."

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

FSF Challenge - Darkness

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This week's writing challenge from Five Sentence Fiction ( Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt: Darkness

What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie posts one word for inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word.

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The girl is a bit of a mystery...

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Dark Child

 

    Marissa was such a sweet girl, so I can't say what changed as she grew older. As kids, we would set together on the bluff holding hands during moonlit nights while watching out over the ocean. We used to talk about sailing off together one day, though she now spends her nights there alone. She says she's waiting for her "Master," whoever that is, and speaks the words in a way that makes me wonder who's really in charge. No, I don't go up there anymore, but it's not the night's blackness that frightens me—it's the darkness within her.

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Image source: Image source: http://lilliemcferrin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/dark-darkness-girl-light-lost-Favim.com-118417.jpg

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Shore Leave 2014 - Michael Welch #2

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Since there was so much interest in my first Michael Welch post, I thought I'd add a little more from Shore Leave 36 (2014). Here's a short video clip of Michael telling how he got the role of Artim in Star Trek: Insurrection. You can access the clip directly here - it looks a little better than the YouTube version.

And here are a couple of pictures. They're a bit grainy as my little camera couldn't pick up enough light to get a really good image. Maybe next time...

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

FSF Challenge - Conflict

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This week's writing challenge from Five Sentence Fiction ( Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt: Conflict

What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie posts one word for inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word.

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Another short and sad one...

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Tapestry

 

    As he crept over the field toward the enemy, Warren noticed how beautiful the sky was that morning. Yellow and orange clouds entwined themselves with the soft blue light of daybreak into a glorious, glowing tapestry. As he paused to take in the splendor above, a thunderous force threw him to the ground. When his eyes reopened, nearly everything was red. The colors didn't go together at all well he decided before his eyes closed again.

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Image source: http://lilliemcferrin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/conflict_analysis.jpg

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

FSF Challenge - Waiting

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This week's writing challenge from Five Sentence Fiction ( Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt: Waiting

What it’s all about: Five Sentence Fiction is about packing a powerful punch in a tiny fist. Each week Lillie posts one word for inspiration, then anyone wishing to participate will write a five sentence story based on the prompt word.

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When I saw this picture, the first thing that came into my mind was Stevie Nick's song "That's Alright." An image like this has so many stories in it. This one is short and sad. And, yes, it's been a while since I've posted a FSF challenge story, but I have been busy!

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Waiting

 

    "I'm afraid there'll be a bit of a wait before the train arrives, Miss."
    "That's okay," she said while counting out money for her ticket. "It's about the only thing I'm good at."
    She had waited for him to break up with his wife, waited for him to notice her, waited for him to propose, and then spent night after night waiting for him to come home until one day he simply didn't. After that, there was no real reason for her to go, but she just couldn't come up with a good reason to stay.

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Image source: http://lilliemcferrin.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/waiting.jpg
Originally from: http://ludmilascorner.blogspot.com/2012/03/change.html

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

HB Challenge #10 - Cross Words

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Horror Bites Challenge #10

From the Office Mango website:

Can’t believe we’ve reached the tenth challenge already, doesn’t time fly when you’re writing horror. Again this is a bit late, ok a week late lol, but I do have a good excuse honest. Been working on getting the submissions for my new collaborative anthology (with Missy) organised. Going to be one hellava Halloween Anthology, (In Creeps The Night), cover reveal end of the week – so excited.

Anyway as I’ve been working with Missy this week, I figured that the photo should come via her backyard. A bit of vegetation horror

1:  Tales can be posted on your blogs & then just add to the wee linky tool, or add as a comment if you don’t have a blog.

2:  A word count of 200-350.

3:  Try to scare me, or at the very least create a little bit of darkness.

4:  This will be a fortnightly (two weeks) challenge from when the post goes live, so you’ve got plenty thinking time.

So come on what are you waiting for, go find your inner demons and get your scare on!

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While I'm waiting for In Creeps the Night to come out (I have vested interest), I thought I'd do another challenge.

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Cross Words

    There was no love lost between Jack and the old woman who rented him her spare room. She was always preaching to him about his drinking, waiving that Bible in his face. He told her one day she would say something at the wrong time, and he'd choke the life out of her sad, wrinkled carcass. Then he'd bury her where even God wouldn't think to look. She assured him he'd never do that because God would find her anywhere and take her to heaven—while he'd have to look for another cheap room to rent on his way to Hell.
    But one day she did—and so did he.
    In the early hours of a foggy April morn, Jack dug a hole in the dirt alley out back of the old house where she kept the trash bins. It was there he placed her lifeless remains. Any extra soil above that required for discretion went into the empty cans. How convenient, he thought.
    When police started asking questions, he did move out, though not too far away. He would often walk by his old digs, so to speak, and even had a laugh when the utility company planted a telephone pole dead center in her unmarked resting place. He watched as the ivy grew around it, further hiding any evidence of his evil deed.
    The following summer, however, the vines had nearly engulfed the pole, and were starting to branch out in what, to his eyes, appeared uncomfortably like a huge cross. The longer he looked at it, the more his fury grew.
    "I won't give her the satisfaction," he said while climbing the pole to tear the vines down.
    But the wires on the pole were live—and soon afterward, he wasn't.
    The neighbors all remarked how the odor of burning insulation mixed with that of toasted flesh smelled a great deal like brimstone. 

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Murder, he wrote...  Sorry. I couldn't help myself.

(316 words without the title) 

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Previous Horror Bites challenges: 

The Door (#9)
Wrapped in a Mystery (#8)
If The Shoe Fits (#7)
You Won't Feel A Thing (#6)
The Wings of Death (#5)

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Little Monsters

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I just got word that my short story Little Monsters has been accepted for publication in an upcoming Halloween-themed anthology from J. A. Mes Press titled In Creeps the Night.

It's a longish flash fiction story at just under their thirteen hundred word limit. I spent the last couple of days before the deadline cutting it down to size. I haven't seen a cover or know of any other stories that have been accepted (there are to be fifty in all), but I'll keep you posted!

The original call for submissions press release is here.

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Image trick-or-treating-5-clipart.gif - Clipart from Clipartheaven.com

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Horror Bites #9 - The Door

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Horror Bites Challenge #9

From the Office Mango website:

Well I’m a wee bit late this week, sorry blame it on the sunshine and the fact I’m still on my holidays from work. 

So this week I thought I’d post a picture that is sure to get your horror genes working. Enjoy, can’t wait to read the tales.

1:  Tales can be posted on your blogs & then just add to the wee linky tool, or add as a comment if you don’t have a blog.

2:  A word count of 200-350.

3:  Try to scare me, or at the very least create a little bit of darkness.

4:  This will be a fortnightly (two weeks) challenge from when the post goes live, so you’ve got plenty thinking time.

So come on what are you waiting for, go find your inner demons and get your scare on!

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You know what they say about curiosity...

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The Door

    In the house where I grew up there is a door at the top of the stairs that leads to the attic. My mother told me never to go up those stairs, that I had no business there. It was a dark, dusty room, full of old boxes and protruding nails, therefore a dangerous place for a young boy's entertainment. So I played downstairs or in the yard, afraid to so much as look up at the small window below the peak of the roof when outside.
    When I grew older, there was school, sports, and girls, of course, and those childhood fears faded away, buried and mostly forgotten beneath the activities of a young man's life.
    After only two years into college, however, my parents died in a tragic accident—or so the story goes. While stopping by the house to obtain proper clothing for their viewing, I remembered that door, and those old warnings freshened within my memory. I dispersed these thoughts with a laugh as I climbed the creaking steps, embarrassed at my youthful terrors.
    As I stood before the door, a noise came from within, not unlike the scratching of a mouse, perhaps, making a nest in the relative comfort of the old wooden beams. The knob was free to turn, but the door, locked with a deadbolt and no key present, was impassable.
    If, somehow, a key might be in the other side of the lock, I could eject it, retrieve the key from under the door, and thus gain entry. I knelt down to look in the keyhole, but no key was visible—only another eye looking directly back at mine. For better or worse, that is all I remember.
    In any event, I am quite happy where I reside now. My evening meal shall soon arrive and my hands freed from their restraints. Company will be wanting, however. They only allow staff in the room while my arms are untethered. Then, once they leave, and the door bolted again, I shall have peace. It's better for everyone that way.

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Makes you wonder which side of the door he was really on...

(346 words without the title - I almost took it to the limit!)

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Previous Horror Bites challenges: 

Wrapped in a Mystery (#8)
If The Shoe Fits (#7)
You Won't Feel A Thing (#6)
The Wings of Death (#5)

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Shore Leave 2014 - Writing Workshop No. 2

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This is my sixth post covering events at Shore Leave 2014, a convention of artists, performers, writers, scientists, and fans of science fiction and fantasy in general that took place from August 1 through August 3, 2014 in Hunt Valley, Maryland.

The second writing workshop I attended was titled Short Story vs Novelization. This took place on Sunday evening. This was a smaller group, but it was interesting and there were good questions from the attendees. These are some of the points that were covered:

1. Get some your work (either short stories or longer pieces) published traditionally before self-publishing. They said, "If nobody else wants your stories, why would I, as a reader, want to buy your work?" This "traditional" path can be anthologies, web, micro-publishers, or a regular publishing house. This gives you some credibility before going out on your own. They also warned us not to publish our own anthologies unless you have already built up a readership.
2. You will get rejected a lot. Keep trying. Eventually, you will succeed.
3. Try to give them something different. Don't write another zombie story unless you have a unique twist that makes your story stand out from the rest of the pack.
4. Writing short stories can help you develop pacing. And while some novels are really just a bunch of short stories strung together, there are differences. With short stories, you must use your words carefully. With a novel, you have a bit more leeway to provide background and other details that might be distracting in a short story.
5. Join a local writing or critique group, if one is available.
6. Don't let family be your beta readers. They will either be brutal without providing real guidance because they are family or they will tell you how wonderful the story is because they are family. Neither is helpful.
7. Again, you will get rejected. Keep trying. You will succeed.
8. When you get rejected, put that story away for a while (six months to a year) before resubmitting. If an anthology called for stories about dinosaurs with machine guns and yours is rejected, a lot of others were rejected, too. Right after the anthology is closed, other publishers will be inundated with stories about dinosaurs with machine guns (yes, this was the example they used) from all those who were rejected. Wait for the smoke to clear (no pun intended) before submitting it again.

There was some disagreement with the old idea of starting on short stories and progressing to novels. Some authors thought that if you do novels best, start there. If you're better at short stories, do that. Other believed that doing short stories first built a foundation of skills for creating longer works. They did seem to agree that novelettes or novella-length stories are making a bit of a comeback.

There were some other writing workshops that looked interesting, but my schedule didn't allow me to attend. Maybe next time! If a convention like this comes by your area, check it out. There are many interesting ideas discussed and many writing contacts to be made.

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Shore Leave 2014 - Richard Dean Anderson

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This is the fifth post covering events at Shore Leave 2014, a convention of artists, performers, writers, scientists, and fans of science fiction and fantasy in general that took place from August 1 through August 3, 2014 in Hunt Valley, Maryland.

One of the guests at Shore Leave 2014, and the main attraction for many, was Richard Dean Anderson of MacGyver and Stargate SG-1 fame. And, of course, I had to get a picture!

Image of Richard Dean Anderson and me at Shore Leave 2014, August 2, 2014

He took time to talk to everyone, both in the picture line and the autograph line. He also gave a couple of talks and answered questions. I was only able to see one of the talks as I had a writing workshop during the last one. During the first talk he asked everyone to sing happy birthday to his daughter Wylie Quinn Annarose Anderson. He had come here (with permission from Wylie) instead of being with her on her sixteenth birthday (August 2). He had to record it twice (on his phone). The first time didn't work. As he was having trouble with his phone, someone yelled out, "MacGyver would fix it!" He replied, "I'm trying!"

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Shore Leave 2014 - Writing Workshop No. 1

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This is the fourth posts covering events at Shore Leave 2014, a convention of artists, performers, writers, scientists, and fans of science fiction and fantasy in general that took place from August 1 through August 3, 2014 in Hunt Valley, Maryland.

This year I attended the Annual Shore Leave All-Kinds-of-Writing Workshop given by Howard Weinstein, Bob Greenberger, Dave Galanter, Bob Jones, and Kelly Meding. Although Shore Leave is mainly a Trekkie / Stargate convention, there are guests, exhibits, and workshops for those interested in other genres.

From the Shore Leave website:

Our writing workshop team has about a century's worth of professional editing and writing experience between them! They'll be sharing the fruits and frustrations of all that jazz with all interested writers at their 2 hour workshop on Saturday. Since the basics of good writing and story-telling apply to many formats, the workshop will cover TV/movie scripts, novels, short stories, comics -- and non-fiction, too.

No matter what your age or experience, if you want to be a writer -- or want to be a better writer -- here's a chance to ask questions and chat about the craft and business of writing for fun and profit! (The workshop is free.)

The workshop was to cover a wide range of subjects, but due to the vigorous discussion, we didn't cover them all. The attendees were given handouts with some good examples. At the end, we were told if we come to the Farpoint convention we could pick up where we left off. (Maybe I'll go!) .

One subject we covered (with samples provided in the aforementioned handouts) was writing dialog. We discussed the overuse of dialog tags, when they are needed, and the structure of dialog and action. A sample of published dialog where nearly every spoken line contained a dialog tag were given, and then an example without tags to show how much better it flowed while still being clear as to which character was speaking. Also covered were ways to handle multi-speaker dialog without using too many tags.

Because the sample in the first discussion was from a published book, the subject of editing was brought up. Some of the panel wondered if anyone really has their work edited anymore. They stressed the need for the author to do as much editing on their own as possible since little help may be forthcoming even from large publishing houses.

After that, we went into a talk about cliches about writing, such as "killing your darlings," or those lines that the author feels are important for a book, but an editor may wish to leave out. They emphasized that it is the author's book, and if they feel that removing it would change the character of the story, the author must be willing to fight for the lines, paragraphs, or chapters they feel are necessary. Having a reason for their inclusion helps, but the final decision must be that of the writer. It was also mentioned that the editor may bring them into question simply to understand the book better, not because there is something wrong.

There was a good turn-out for this workshop, and the people attending had quite varied interests. Most were writing novels, but those working on short stories, screen plays, and even musicals were represented.

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Shore Leave 2014 - Michael Welch

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Update 08/30/2014: I want to thank all of the Michael Welch fans who have visited this site. It's been one of my most active blog entries during the last month. If I get time, I may post a bit more on him (this last month has been a blur - too much to do!). 

Update 09/04/2014: I've added another post  ( < that's the link ) with a short video and a couple of pictures.

As promised, I'm posting on some of the events from Shore Leave 2014 now that it's over and I have time to breathe. This one is about Michael Welch.

I've haven't met many famous people in my life, and never an actor/actress from a well-known movie or television series. This weekend I met several. This post is about Michael Welch. I could remember him vaguely from the Joan of Arcadia television show, but I've never seen Twilight or any of his other work.

I realize that you can't tell too much about a person from a brief meeting in a staged environment, but I can tell you I was impressed by how hard he worked at the convention. He gave two one-hour talks where he answered many impromptu questions from fans. He gave some insight on what it takes to be a successful actor, dealings with the paparazzi, and stories about how he got into the business (more on these if I have time). He also talked about working with writers and directors, and dealing with rejection (which every actor and writer experiences).

After the talks, he went back out into the halls to work the autograph lines. Though he charges for each autograph (like all the other actors) and has staff helping him, it can still be hard work. Long after most of the people and staff had left on Sunday, Michael was still there, signing autographs for anyone who asked, and taking time to talk to each person. He also allowed people to take a picture with him, and was gracious the entire time. This is not as easy as it sounds. There are a lot of, well, let's say, "eccentric" people at these conventions (not me, of course), and you never know what sort of person may want to squeeze up against you in a situation like this. He never stopped smiling. Trust me—it's impressive.

Michael Welch
(He stopped what he was doing more than once
so that I could take his picture.)

Michael Welch signing a picture
from the Joan of Arcadia series
for a fan.

More on Shore Leave 2014 later!

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Shore Leave 2014 - Winding Down

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Although Shore Leave 2014 is winding down, this won't be the last post. Once I get some rest and load some pictures and tell a bit about what went on her.

Right now, I'm sitting about fifty feet from Richard Dean Anderson and less than twenty feet from Teryl Rothery while they do their final autograph session. Michael Welch is also working hard at the table to Teryl's right. They've all given their fans a great deal of personal access and interaction.

I know these pictures don't show much, but it's all I can do quickly right at the moment.

Teryl Rothery is somewhere on the left behind folks getting pictures signed.

Richard Dean Anderson is taking care of the last few autograph seekers here.

Both are very personable. Teryl said I looked like Bruce Boxleitner. If I ever meet him, I'll have to offer my sympathies!

More soon! I promise!

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Shore Leave 2014 - Friday

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Well, I'm here at Shore Leave and it's been an interesting evening. As soon as I got here, there was no mistake that I was in the right place...

Dr. Who collection

As we were walking down the hall, we looked into one of the conference rooms and saw Michael Welch of Twilight fame getting a birthday cake. He blew out the candles, but he didn't tell us what his wish was.

Michael Welch

Next up was a talk by Richard Picardo (Stargate, China Beach) on his various roles. He told a number of interesting and humorous stories, and answered questions on them from the audience. He's quite an interesting fellow.

Richard Picardo at Shore Leave 2014

There were a lot of writers, of course, selling and signing books. Much of it was related to Star Trek or Stargate, but fantasy titles were well represented.

Authors in the hall

I startled Michael Jan Friedman (Star Trek novels and fantasy) taking his picture as he was signing a book. He smiled afterward. I guess he's used to this sort of thing.

Michael Jan Friedman, Author

And just when we thought the night was over, there was Robert Picardo singing karaoke in the bar...

Robert Picardo singing karaoke

We talked briefly in the hall afterward as he was leaving for the night. He's a funny and interesting man.

Now I must get some rest myself, for tomorrow I get to do this all over again!

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Fringeworks / Dead Men's Tales Update

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Update: Just to let everyone know, Dead Men's Tales, with my story Skarett's Treasure, was published in February 2017. You can find it HERE.

I received an e-mail yesterday from Melissa Black, the editor of Fringeworks' Dead Men's Tales anthology. If you've read my other posts on this, you know my story, Skarett's Treasure, was to be included, but it seemed as if the project had stalled and was in danger of disappearing altogether. It's been a long time coming, but she confirmed it is to come out during the third quarter of this year (around September?). The cover art is almost complete and the project is moving forward!

That's all for now, but I hope to have more on this soon!

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© 2012-2014 K. R. Smith All rights reserved